When exposed to a sterilizing dose of high-energy radiation, absorbable polymers, particularly fully aliphatic ones, are known to undergo catastrophic reduction in their functional strength retention when used as implants for wound repair [Chapter 1 in Biomedical Polymers—Designed-to-Degrade Systems (Shalaby, Ed) Hanser, N.Y., 1994]. Because of the detrimental effects of high-energy radiation, such as gamma radiation and electron-beam, on absorbable polymers and their intermediates, two novel approaches were disclosed in the prior art to allow the application of high-energy radiation in the sterilization of absorbable devices. The first approach dealt with incorporating a significant fraction of aromatic repeat units in the chain of absorbable aliphatic polyesters [U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,435,161 (1984), 4,532,928 (1985), and 4,649,921 (1987)]. Although this was an effective means for allowing copolymers of glycolide with aromatic prepolymers to be radiation sterilizable, the approach has limited applicability to other absorbable copolymers and its implementation is technically tedious and costly. The second approach dealt with using a combination of a very low dose of high-energy radiation and radiolytically generated formaldehyde as a gaseous co-sterilant and resulted in a minimum or no detrimental effects on the sterilized absorbable polymers [U.S. Pat. No. 5,422,068 (1995)]. This was referred to as radiochemical sterilization. Meanwhile, there has been a growing need for absorbable polymers and intermediates having a broad range of strength retention profiles for use in many surgical and tissue repair procedures. Another area with pressing need for absorbable polymers with a broad range of functional strength retention profiles pertains to their use in tissue engineering as scaffolds for supporting the propagation of several types of viable cells for different periods of time, as in the case of endothelial cells and osteoblasts. To meet the needs for these wide-ranging applications will require decades of research to develop and test the biocompatibility of many candidate absorbable polymers and intermediates without limited assurance for success. Accordingly, the present invention deals with the use of a unique family of fully aliphatic, absorbable polymers as the source of several subfamilies of polymers through controlling the total dose of high-energy radiation received by the specific substrate to achieve sterility. Such a unique family of polymers is distinguished for having segmented or blocked copolymeric chains with radio-compatible components (i.e., components capable of limiting the radiolytic impact of high-energy radiation), wherein said polymers can display a range of functional strength retention profiles through modulating the radiation dose, and sterility can be secured through a radiolytically generated surface sterilant at radiation doses of less than 25 kGy. Likewise, intermediates for flexible absorbable articles, which are present as liquids at room temperature, can be considered as candidates for being radio-compatible systems.